Bottle washing and scrubbing mechanism.



W. sEIDEL. BOTTLE WASHING AND SGRUBBING MBGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30,1908.

PATBNTED MAY 21, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED MAY 21, 1907.

W. SEIDEL. BOTTLE WASHING AND SGRUBBING MBCHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED MAY 21, 1907. W. SEIDEL. BOTTLE WASHING AND SGRUBBING MECHANISM. APPLIGATION FILED MAR.30,1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

.l. 0 9 l L 2 v... A M D E .T N E T A P W 5. 3 5r 4 5 8 0. N

BOTTLE WASHING AND SGRUBBING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 30,1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

llllllillllllllllllllllmINE! I] I mu N. .nm 3:1 nw d@ A Q m M\T|| I a e m\ Scrubblng Mechanism, of

- usedfor the transportation of bottles, and to the through the scrubber.

1 spectively.

4method of actuating the bottle transporting employed for holding the bottles in position rollers; Fig. Gan enlarged detail of the'scrub-v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` y WILLIAMsnrnoiwnicanine, ILLINoIs.Y

- BOTTLE WASI-unendo. SCRUBBING MECHANISM. N0.854, 5e5.

l *Specification of Letters Patent. i

retarded May 21, 1907. Appncaiundnanh 30.11906. 'serial No. 308.336. Y

To'otZZ whom it mayconcerv:

Beit known 'that citizenof the United States, residing at Wheeling, in the county of Cook and State of center ofthe trough ,is located Illinois, have invented certain new and use` the bristles of l which extend down sufiil .Improvements 1n Bottle; Washing and ciently 'to contact the bottles as they' are which the follow.-

rolled along through the feedtrough, which -contact serves to remove 'particles' of dirt or sediment adhering to the exterior of the bottles. 'Thebottles are fed along by means of a primary endless -chain 11 which passes around sprocket wheels 12 and 13 at the ends of the soaking tank and is then carried on an upward slope around an upper central sprocket wheel 14 and thence back around an intermediate sprocket wheel 15.

The chain at all points follows the direction of the feed trough, l`which, passing longitudinally through the soaking. tank, is provided with a curved end section 16, conforming to the curvature of the sprocket wheel 13, which end section 16 terminates in an u wardly slopingsection 17 whichextends 1n reverse direction rtol the section 3 and is tipped or tilted reversely thereto, as `shown inFig. 2. The sloping sectionofthe'feed` trough 17 terminates in a curved end section 18 following the curvature of the sprocket Wheel 14, which section 18 terminates in a reversely extending sloping section 19, 'which in turn follows the curvature of the sprocket wheel 15. and terminates in a vertically extending section 20, which connects with the inner end of the longitudinally extending section'in'the soaking tank. I The inner end wall of the feed tro ugh throughout its entire a brush 10,

ing Isa specification. y

The object ,of this invention isto provide mechanism for .automatically and successively soaking, rinsing' and scrubbing bottles beer, milk or other articles in which it is highly important that the ,bottles be thoroughly cleansed preparatory to being filled with liquid.

-The invention relates to means for carrying lthe bottles through the different tanks, to the means for' filling and emptying-the means for scrubbing the interior of the bottles toremove v any sediment or impurities lodged therein.

The invention further relates to the and scrubbing mechanism, and to the means In the scrubber and automatically scrubbing vthe interior of Veach bottle during its passage' The invention finallyconsists in the features of construction and combination lof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe entire mechanism showing the -tank with the front-walls removed; Fig. 2 an enlarged section taken on line 2-2 -of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a plan view of the entire mechanism; Fig. 4 4a cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1',- Fig.V 5 a section ofthe feed chain and trated in Fig. 9, and the endless sprocket chain is supported so as to travel in substantial alinement with the slot throughout its. entire orbit. The sprocket chain, as shown in Fig. 5, consists of a plurality of longitudinally extending bing mechanism; Fi 7 an enlarged viewv l Fig. 1; Fig. 8 an end YieW of thel mechanism; Flg: '9 a view showing afportion of the carrying trough; andv The .washing and scrubbing mechanism as a whole consists of a soaking tank 1 and a rinsing tank 2, both ofoblong shape andv provided Awith feed rollers 24, which rollers are ent-ered into the feed troughand roll along'the bottom vthereof to roll the bottlesI down through the feed trough, as will .be hereinafter explained. along the'outside of the feed trough, and the rods i 23, being of small" diameter, easilyA travel through the continuous longitudinally extendin slotin the feed trough.

o the tank is a feedboxor trough 3 of rectangular formation having a top. wall 4, a bottom wall 5, and side wheels 6 and 7 re The soaking tank or trough at its center S8 is inclined sufficiently to' allow the bottles fed through the trough to be I, WILLIAM SEIDEL, a `into the feed trough through perforatlons' 9V extent is provided with a slot 21, best illusl' links 29 which are pivoted Fig. 10 a fragmentary view showing a portogether means of rods23 which are outtion -of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 6. .v `wardly extended on one side of the chamand loo The chain travels m5 In ad ition to the trough hitherto dej 11o scribed,'which may be termed the primary feed trough, is a secondary feed trough, consistin'g of a lower section' 25 which extends from end to end of the rinsing trough 2 and istilted or tipped at its center 26 in a manner to that hitherto described to thecorrespond- -ing section of the primary feed trough. The lower section of the secondary trough terminates at Aitsinner end in a vertically extending section 27, which in turn is connected with an upper section 2S which is upwardly inclined from the vertical section 27 and is tilted or tipped in reverse relationv -to the lower section 25. The section 28 vpasses through a scrubber 2 9, to be hereinafter described,`and is connect-ed by means of a vertically extending section longitudinally extending secondary feed trough, like the primary feed trough, has extending alongside of it an endless feed chain 31, in alll respects si.'r=.ilar

section 25. The

to that hitherto described, which chain is immediately beneath and downwardly from carried varound upper and lower sprocket wheels 32 and'33 respectively at the inner end of the rinsing tank and sprocket wheels 34 and'35 at the outer -end of the rinsing tank, the secondary feed trough being rounded to conform to the curvature of the sprocket wheels carrying the chain. The inner upper :corner 36 of the secondary feed trough lies is connected with the end section 1S of the prim-ary feed trou gh, and, at the point of juncture, the -Wall between the two trorghs is cut away to provide adischarge opening 37, imnediat-ely beneath which is a soft pad 38 which allows the bottles to drop from the primary feed trough into the secondary feed trough, as best shown in Fig. 9. The bottles are initially inserted into the primary feed trot gh through an opening 39 iuunediately vabove the sprocket Wheel 15, and the bottles are finally discharged from a ch utc 4() extending the upper section 28 of the secondary feed tro 1 gh, as shown iulig. 1.

The scrubber, best illustrated in Fig. 6, comprises an inner drum 41 mounted upon a shaft 42 upon which is also mounted a sprocket wheel 43 carrying the secondary sprocket chain.' The drum 41 extends outwardly from-the secondary feed trough, a portion of the roof of which is shown broken away in Fig. 6, with dotted lines indicating the position of the bottles. The drum is provided with a circumferentially extending rib 44 provided on its periphery with a toothed rack 415 which meshes with a sprocket wheel 46 mounted on a shaft 47 within journal boxes 4S on a stationary outer shell 49. The shaft 47 has also mounted thereon a gear wheel 5() which is constantly rotated by the intermeshing of the gear wheel 46 with the rack 45, and said gear wheel 50, which maintains a fixed position, is suitable intervals with gea. wheel'clutch scc-v 30 with the lower` tion of the track ed within the yoke so v pted to mesh at v tion 51 which are rotatably mounted on the ends of tubular sleeves 52 which are passed through and fixedly mounted within the rib 44 at the outer end, and at the `inner end are secured within an end flange 53- at the inner end of the drum 41, which drum is provide with a closing end 54 having in'its center a hub 55. 'The outer end of the drum is like-- wise inclosed by means of an end wall 56 having in its center a hub 57. The clutch section 51 is intended to engage with a clutch section 58 which is fixedly secured to a brush tube 59 which surrounds an inner guide rod 60 fixedly secured at its outer end to a flange 61 corresponding in size and shafpel With the flange 53 at the op osite end o the drum. The brush tube 59 das inserted thereinto at its inner end a plurality of fine spring steel rods @adapted to enter the mouth of' a bottie, and a reciprocating motion isimparted i to the brush tube 59 by means of a rack 63,

slidably mounted on the guide rod `60, 'the teeth of which rack mesh with the teeth of a gear wheel 64, which in turn mesh With a fixed rack 65 on the outer face of the. drum. The gearwheel 64 is 'inounted on a shaft 66 which is carried between side arms 67 of a yoke having a cross head 68 provided with aflange 69 which enters a cam groove or track 70 which is formed on the inner face of the outer stationary cylindrical casing 49 which surrounds the outer .end of the inner drum. The cam track, as shown in dotted lines, ex-4 tends in a diagonal direction, s'o that a portends to *give a forward thrust to the cross head 68 and gear wheel 64 carried thereby, and a portion of the track tends to, retract the cross head and gear wheel. The-yoke, carrying thegear wheel, straddles the rack 63 which is slid ably mounttha-t, as the cam track directs the movement of the'yoke, the gear wheel, which at all times meshes with the fixed rack 65, will tend to give a forward thrust or rearward retraction of the rackand the brush tube and brush rods carried thereby.

At the inner end of the lixed guide tube 52 is a tubular sealing neck 71 which terminates in a flaring mouth 72 adapted to receive'the mouth of a bottle, and said mouth projects into the secondary feed trpugh a sufficient distance tohave the bottle mouth firmly and tightly inserted thereinto. :The feed trough is provided with a cam plate 73 on the side of the trough adjacent to the sealing mouth, the ond of which cam plate is in substantial alinement with theouter edge of the sealing mouth and serves to thrust back. the bottles sufficiently for the bottle mouth to clear the edge'of the sealingI mouth preparatory to thev sealing operation. On the ,opposite side of the trough is a second cam plate 74which extends a lconsiderable distance along the Wall of the trough and serves, after the bottle has been given a backward thrust, to give rg IOO IIC

rif

it l*a forward or reverse thrustinto .the sealingv mouth, in which position it is'held during a -erated at will, it is loosely mounted considerable .period of time.

In order topermit the drum 4 1 to be o shaft 42 and 1s adapted to have .rotatlon im'- clutch member 75 xedlysecured to the shaft,

l f. Which clutch member 1s' operated by means v which arrangement of alever 76 pivoted at'one end between ears 77. secured to .the'inner Wall of the'trough, enables the endlessjfeed' chain to constantly rotate the shaftand enables the drum to be clutched or unclutched atWill. i .It Will beunderstood that the brush mech- 'amsm vand gear and rack mechanism heretofore' described are duplicated at suitable intervalsarcund the periphery of'thedru'm so that the bottles, fed to the crubber by means ofthe 'feed chain and ro re'ss through the scrubber. In case it is de'- sirable to sterilize the bottlesin the soaking tank, such sterilization can begdonel by means of steam admitted through steam pipes 78 vadapted to receive steam from anysuitable source of supply. i 1

Power is imparted to the primary and-sec-` ondary endless feed chains by means ofa' a longitudinally extending power shaft 79 yproi sprocket Wheel 14 and the suiclent A to substantially'` fill vlded with fast'and loose pulley Wheels`80 at one end and. provided at its opposite end with a worm 81 which meshes with Worm` gear Wheels 82 and 83 respectively, the former' of lwhich imparts rotation to the latter ofwhich 1m arts rotationy to the sprocket wheel 32.

` n use the bottles are fed through the opening 39 between the rollers which .are constantly moving along' the rimary feed trough, and the diameter rof tIhe bott-les is the interior down along the feedgtrough-a'nd into the soaking tank. The bottles rest against the Hoor ofthe trough andv are rolled alongby the rollers, being tilted somewhaty as they 'approach the center'of the tank by reason the tilt or slope of the trough, which alg lows the bottles to be filled-with Water and the air expelled, and as the bottles are rolled under the brush 10, any dirt or particles or chain and are then elevated into the inclined u per section of Athe primary feed trough W 'ch is. tilted in a direction oppositeto that water, hitherto 'admitted'into the bottles, to

flow back along the troughand into the tank ers,`- Will each. be

scrubbed out on its interior, during its prog? causes the flexible brush rods again'.-` After lthe bottles are carriedaround the curved end section 18 of feed trough, they fall opening' 37 at and secondary a troughs, j'striking upon. the soft pad 38, *whichl A .which they vare carried forward betweenithe feed rollers ofthe secondaryy feed chain int' thev primary by gravity thrcughthethe juncturel of Ithe 'primary' and through the soaking tank, in which tank they are; again filled with Water, after which they are carried of the sealing mouths .of the scrubber, as hitherto described.

The bottles are sealed, as shown at the lower side ofFig. 6, in W lbrush tubes and permit the insertion of the bottle mouth, butafter the bottle has been sealed-it iscarried hich position the 7sf up to the scrubber, each .bott e being entered into one brush rods are retracted to around with the brush mechanism until the I brush tube is thrownforward into. the position shown at the upper side of-Fig. 6, which or Wiresto be thrust forward into the body and against the end thereof,which causes the brush Wires or rods to spread Within the body' of thle bottle and abutagainst the sides of the bott e,

of the bottle' j With the brush rodsthus spread Ior i enpanded Within the bottle, -t'hebrush tube W1ll be momentarily lrevolved by the intermeshing'of the teetho'f the` gear wheel 50 With the teeth of the gearvclntch'section 51, Which, when brought into mesh with the gear eared section 58, to which the brush tubeis xedly secured. This gives a rapid, though momentary revolution, to the expanded brush Wires Within the bottle, which serves to thorou hly scrub out the interior of the bottle an vwhich may be lodged therein.

loosen up any sediment or dirt After the scrubbing operation above described, the bottles are unsealed and carried along the upper .section 28 of the secondary feed trough and discharged throughthe chute 40.

"From the foregoing description it. will be seen that the'several steps-1n the operation of Washing the bottles are all performed autofor use." .The water in the initial or soakin tank will be-alll drawn out of the bottles, t0- gether with such dirt and sediment as may .50, Will be likewise clutched to the slidably roc e -dissolved thereby, prior to the admission of. the4 bottles in the rinsing tank, so that the bottles will be in afairly clean condition priorv to their immersion in the rinsing tank.

What I regard asnew and desire to secure Letters.'Patent is: y 1. Ina machine of the class described, the

combinationof a Vsoaking tank, a rinsing tank, a trough tank, a troughl for each of the tanks, each of chains, one for each Athe troughs having a lower section within the tank and an upper section above the tank, the two troughs being connected, and endless chains, one for each of the troughs, adapted to carry the bottles through the trough, subv stantially as described.

l3. In a machine 'of the class described, the

combination of a soaking tank, arinsing 4 tank, a trough tor each of the tanks, each oitlie troughs having a lower section within the tank and an upper section above the tank,

' the two troughs beineF connected, and endless chains, one for each 0I the troughs, said chains being'locatedoutside of the troughs and provide with rollers' extending into the troughs for rolling'the bottles through the troughs, substantiallyT as described.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a-soaking tank, a rinsing tank, a trough for each of the tanks, each of the troughs having a lower section in the tank and an upper section above the tank, the trough in thel soaking tank being provided with an extension overhanging and connected with the troughin the rinsing tank for allowing the bottles to Jfall byvgravity frombne trough to the other, andendless of the troughs, adapted to carry the bottles through the troughs, substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a soakingtank, a-rins'ing tank, a trough for each of the tanks, each of the troughs having a lower section in the tank and an upper section above the tank,

the trough in the soaking tank being providedwith an extension overhanging and connected with the trough in the rinsing tank for allowing the bottles to fall. by gravity from one troughlto the other, chains, one foreach of the troughs, said chains being located outside 'of the troughs and provided with rollers extended into the troughs for rolling troughs, substantially as described.

6. In a machine of the class described, the

/ n l a n combination of a soaking tank, a rinsing tank, an endless trough for cachot the tanks, each trough having a lower section within the tank and an up er section above vthe tank, one of the trouglls being provided with an upwardly sloping extension having near its extremity and immediately above the trough in the other tank, an orifice' for discharging bottles from one of the troughs into the other, and means for-feeding the bottles successively through the troughs, substan-v tially as described.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a soaking tank, a rinsing tank, an endless trough for each of the tanks, one of the troughs being extensionv overhanging and opening into the other trough, a scrubbing mechanism located within and coacting with the last mentioned trough, and means for carrying the bottles successively through the two troughs'and the scrubbing mechanism, substantially 4as described.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a soaking tank, a rinsing tank, an endless trough for each of the tanks,

one of the troughsbeingdprovided with an extension overhanging an opening into the other trou h, a scrubbing mechanism located within an coacting with the last mentioned trough, and anendless chain-for each of the troughs, `provided with feeding rollers for carrying the bottles through the troughs and through the scrubbing mechanism, substantially as described.

,WILLIAM SEIDEL. Witnesses:

WALKERI BANNiNG, 1,

SAMUEL W. BANNING.

and endless provided with an the `bottles. through the 

